Name: Patty and Chris
Location: Astor Place/Union Square
Size: 2000 sqft
Favorite: The ceilings, the windows, and the good bones.
Patty and Chris moved in three years ago. Once a candle factory, the space had since been overly adorned by a previous owner during the late 70s/early 80s. Instead of appreciating the apartment for what it is — a formerly industrial brick building with huge windows and brick walls with arches over each window, high ceilings and lots of space — the former dwellers tried to eek out an Italian villa in the middle of the Village...
As we know, this was the way of the 1980s — to build up and add busy-ness. And now, 20 years later, renovators and interior decorators across the city are doing their best to break down and strip away all those seemingly superfluous flourishes. Patty loves the apartment and believes it has "good bones." Her goal, then, is to expose as much of those bones as possible and let its natural beauty shine through.
The good thing about Patty being a full time business school student during their first year and a half in the apartment is that she didn't have time to tackle the space and Chris was indifferent. They were able to live in what felt like a rental and learn to understand the intricacies of their immediate environment — what worked and what didn't. As a result, the major, impending, renovation consists of thoughtful and tactical interventions.
Phase 1, late last year included upgrading all the windows to Argon double pane glass with wood on inside and cladding on the outside and that help to enhance temperature control in the apartment; painting the master bedroom; removing crown molding and a fake fireplace in the front room; and fully renovating the kitchen and bathroom. The remainder of the apartment will get its facelift starting next month in what is likely to be a 3-month process.
Tenets of Patty's approach are to remove any and all falsified arches in the apartment, to create efficient storage space, to minimize detailing, and to integrate sustainable building practices wherever possible including refinishing the floor instead of replacing it, keeping the ceiling fans to counteract the summer heat, using better insulated windows, buying vintage furniture instead of new furniture, and buying low-flush toilets and Energy Star appliances.
Resources:
Jack, the space designer who helped with the kitchen
Angela Okajima, ceramicist and potter who did the white sculpture on the wall next to the hutch.
Sean, raku potter who did the pottery above Patty's desk.
Penine Art and Antiques who supplied the unfinished chairs in the front room.
Do you have an idea for a house tour? Let me know! jill@apartmenttherapy.com
The original post with original comments: The Inside Out: Patty and Chris' Stripping Down
Originally Posted by Jill — January 25, 2006 - Aaron
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I love that there are descriptions to go with the pictures - can everyone who does a house tour be required to do this? It makes the experience so much better - like being guided through their space instead of snooping around.
agreed. i loved this house tour! such a fun transformation of a beautiful space. can't wait to see the "after".
I was just thinking that brokzek! Comments make looking at these pictures a lot more interesting.
Can't we proofread a little better? "Eek out"? Seriously??
I'm trying to be chill about the fact that every time "its" is used, it contains an apostrophe (its in the possessive has no apostrophe, an apostrophe in its means "it is"!), but really, "eek out"???
Our grammar is as important an inheritance as our design vocabulary.
Patty -
I'm sure we'll be blown away with the "after". You have such a great eye, and an ability to elegantly simplify.
What's the rush? Why didn't we see the tour after all of the proposed changes have been made?
It's kinda weird to see a house tour with captions all saying, essentially, "But it won't look anything like this." Looking forward to seeing the After.
I actually like a lot of the stuff they are planning to get rid of, and I am not crazy about the kitchen renovation. But to each his own.
Gorgeous space, I have the distinct feeling this is 439 lafayette, however I could be wrong. I went to party in this building a few years back and it is one of the few with double/triple exposures in that astor place corridor. These are not cheap and this is not a discount location for Manhattan standards. Notice she is in business school, perhaps he is a hedge-funder-
This is a stunning place architecturally, but something to me seems like they are out of place...Perhaps it is just me..Perhaps I am jealous...It comforts me seeing places when I feel like it is earned. I did not get that out of this tour..Yeah i'm weird like that..
This space is beautiful. That said, it's probably tough to make a former warehouse, 2,000 SF space with high ceilings and light access from all around not-beautiful. Not to even mention its amazing location. Am definitely with madsarah on this one - how sustainable and eco friendly is it if you're ripping out everything? I actually really like it the way it is, with all the old details and charm. And I too, am probably feeling a bit envious considering this apt prob cost something like, $2.6mil; and I'm thinking of what a wise commentor from a while ago said, which is that on apt. therapy we get to see how people use their design sense and creativity to maximize what they can out of a small space, and how you don't have to be completely priveledged and throw tons of money at a project to make your home truly standout.
Can all the haters please keep their comments to themselves?
I can definitively see all the potential you saw when you aquired the place. That is a skill that a lot of buyers don't have. Good luck!